Warners storms 'Court'

Seitzman to pen script and direct, Wechsler will produce

By MICHAEL FLEMING

Warner Bros. has made a preemptive purchase of "Storming the Court," an upcoming book about a group of Yale law students and profs who successfully sued the U.S. government and two presidents for detaining Haitian immigrants at Guantanamo Bay in the early 1990s.

Michael Seitzman will write the script and direct. Nick Wechsler will produce.

Seitzman scripted another fact-based courtroom pic for Warners that is currently untitled but was directed by Niki Caro and stars Charlize Theron. He also wrote "The Sparrow," a sci-fi pic being crafted for Brad Pitt and director George Miller. Wechsler produces both projects.

Seitzman made his directing debut on the indie "Farmer and Chase." "Storming the Court" has been on studio radars since agent Sylvie Rabineau circulated a proposal several years ago. The book will be published by Scribner in the fall.

WB's Courtenay Valenti will supervise the pic.